


Lydia Branwell, Medusa Extraordinaire

by HopeSilverheart



Series: Loving Em at 2AM [62]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alcohol, Alec Lightwood Loves Magnus Bane, Banter, Canon Compliant, Crack, Drunk Alec, Drunk Lydia Branwell, F/F, Fluff, Hair Dyeing, Humour, M/M, Magical hair dyeing, Magnus Bane Is So Done, Magnus Bane Loves Alec Lightwood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:08:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25251394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HopeSilverheart/pseuds/HopeSilverheart
Summary: She was well past drunk at this point. She couldn’t remember why Alec and she had decided to go to a bar together, but she had to admit she hadn’t felt this free in years. Sitting there, sharing a bottle of wine with her best friend as they lamented over their colleagues and huge workload, she couldn’t remember ever feeling this good.“Why aren’t shadowhunters supposed to do this?” She pouted, narrowing her eyes at her almost empty glass of wine and gesturing for the bartender to bring her something else. “I mean, I’ve never felt better about myself. I’m pretty sure I could go out there and knock out a whole swarm of demons without breaking a sweat if you let me.”Or: Alec & Lydia get drunk and decide to dye Lydia's hair.
Relationships: Lydia Branwell & Alec Lightwood, Lydia Branwell/Catarina Loss, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: Loving Em at 2AM [62]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1764400
Comments: 8
Kudos: 143





	Lydia Branwell, Medusa Extraordinaire

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thatnerdemryn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatnerdemryn/gifts).



The one thing everyone knew about Lydia Branwell and Alec Lightwood was that they were both the worst workaholics in all of New York City.

It wasn’t exactly a secret that they rarely went out, only spent time with each other and their small group of six friends when they weren’t at work, and preferred lazy nights in to extravagant nights out. It wasn’t a problem, since it made them happy, but it _did_ mean that none of their friends had ever seen them drunk.

Alec and Lydia didn’t get drunk. They didn’t even get tipsy, according to their closest friends.

_Well_ , Lydia thought, _shows how well they know us_.

She was well past drunk at this point. She couldn’t remember why Alec and she had decided to go to a bar together, but she had to admit she hadn’t felt this free in years. Sitting there, sharing a bottle of wine with her best friend as they lamented over their colleagues and huge workload, she couldn’t remember ever feeling this _good_.

“Why aren’t shadowhunters supposed to do this?” She pouted, narrowing her eyes at her almost empty glass of wine and gesturing for the bartender to bring her something else. “I mean, I’ve never felt better about myself. I’m pretty sure I could go out there and knock out a whole swarm of demons without breaking a sweat if you let me.”

“I’m not going to let you do that,” Alec said seriously, although his eyes were narrowed thoughtfully as he glanced outside the bar, almost as though… “But do you think you could? I mean, Magnus tells me alcohol makes him slower sometimes, but I have to admit I’ve never felt as strong as I do right now. If we manage to find a bow, some arrows, and maybe a few blades…”

“Don’t we have those with us right now?” Lydia frowned, patting at her thigh in search of the blades she always kept there. When her hands kept back empty, she gaped at Alec in complete surprise. “Alec, where are my _blades_?”

“You don’t have your blades,” Alec asked, distress colouring his tone as he patted his back. “Lydia, by the angel, I don’t have my bow either.”

“Alright, Nephilim,” the bartender – Maia, Lydia thought, or something along those lines – said, shaking her head at them like they were the dumbest people she had ever seen. “Time for you two to stop drinking and get the hell out of here. I try to avoid dealing with completely drunk patrons, and you definitely fit that category, so scurry away.”

“But Maia,” Alec whined, sending his most pleading look in the bartender’s direction, who only faltered for a second before smoothing her features out again. “We can’t find our weapons. How are we supposed to go out there and kill all the demons if we don’t have our weapons with us?”

Lydia nodded solemnly. Alec was right; they couldn’t leave. If they left now, the demons outside would eat them alive and she would never get to see her friends again. And she wouldn’t be able to prove that she could kill demons even when she was slightly tipsy.

“We need our weapons,” she added, her eyebrows flying up when she realised her voice had acquired a slight drawl. “Maia, we _need_ them.”

“No you don’t,” the woman rolled her eyes. “Firstly, you two are off duty, so you don’t need to be killing any demons. Secondly, you didn’t bring any weapons with you because this is a downworlder bar and I _would_ have kicked you out as soon as your eyes got glassy. And lastly, there are no demons to kill right now, since Isabelle and Clary are undoubtedly taking care of them. Now please, leave before I have to call in my superior.”

“You have a superior?”

Alec’s question remained unanswered as Maia threw her hands in the air and aggressively pointed at the door in a clear sign for them to get out before she shoved them out herself.

“Right, we should go,” Lydia said, biting down at her bottom lip to stop herself from giggling when Alec sighed dramatically and dragged his feet towards the door. “Thank you Maia, for all the- um- the drinks! All the drinks!”

“Yeah, I have a feeling you’ll be the only one thanking me,” Maia grumbled, but Lydia honestly didn’t have the patience to decipher her words. She would ask herself in the morning, when it felt a little less like the world was spinning around her. And when on earth _had_ the world started spinning? She was almost certain it had been fine when she had first stood up from her seat at the bar.

Maybe it was the night air. It was cooler than usual, even though they were only in October. Maybe the temperature was messing with her brain, especially since Alec seemed to be just as bad as her.

“Hey, is the world spinning for you too?” She asked loudly, waving cheerfully at a passer-by when he hurried past her with an eyeroll. “Alec, can you still see the ground?”

“No,” her best friend answered, staring at the floor as though it were some confusing puzzle. “I think I’m floating. Lydia, is it possible for a shadowhunter to float? Or do you think it’s Magnus’ magic carrying me towards him? Oh, wait, you’re right, the world is _definitely_ spinning. Why is it doing that?”

“Ooh, do you have some of Magnus’ magic on you? Maybe that’s what’s making us spin,” Lydia pointed out, getting closer to Alec and patting him down to look for Magnus’ magic. Surely, the thing had to be sparkly and bright and warm, right?

“I thought the world was spinning,” Alec frowned. “Not us. Or maybe we’re all spinning; the world, the sun, us, the magic. Can you not see the magic?”

Lydia looked up at him with confused eyes. She had no idea what her best friend was talking about, but she was starting to wonder if it might have something to with the wine they had had earlier.

“Alec,” she whispered, coming to a sudden realisation. She giggled lightly when her best friend’s eyes crossed as he looked down at her. “Alec, I think maybe we had a little bit more wine than we could handle.”

“Pshh,” Alec waved her concerns away, glancing around the street as though he wasn’t sure where they were going next. “Lydia, where are we?”

“At the Hunter’s Moon,” she said, reading the sign behind her. “Apparently, it’s a bar for downworlders who want to have fun, and shadowhunters who want to get their asses kicked. Hey! That’s not very nice advertisement! Maybe we should go in there and show those downworlders we can kick ass too! And in heels!”

“Maybe we should,” Alec nodded, before furrowing his brows and looking to his left. “Wait, no, Magnus is waiting for us. His magic is buzzing, and I think he’s waiting for us.”

“I still can’t believe you have his magic on you and you’re not showing it to me,” Lydia pouted. “I thought we were friends, Alec, but we can’t even show each other our significant others’ magic?”

“Do you have some of Cat’s magic with you?” Alec asked, tilting his head to the side curiously as he took Lydia’s wrist and started leading them towards Magnus – or at least, Lydia _hoped_ that was where they were going. “Isn’t she pulling to you too?”

“She hasn’t given me anything,” Lydia pouted, although her eyes lit up excitedly at the mention of her girlfriend. “Do you think it’s because our relationship is newer? Maybe I need to wait a little bit longer before she gives me her magic. That makes sense, right? She wouldn’t just… forget. Right?”

“Or maybe she’s already given it to you,” Alec said, patting Lydia’s arm with his free hand and abruptly making a right turn into a street Lydia had never seen before – although maybe that made sense, since she was still new to New York. “You know, it took me months to realise Magnus had given me some of his sparkle. He doesn’t like to talk about it, since he says it’s intimate and I shouldn’t be able to see it, but it’s very pretty and I’m very happy I get to tell him that every day.”

“Ew,” Lydia scrunched up her face. “Who are you and what have you done with Alec Lightwood? My best friend would never be this sappy in front of an audience other than his husband, and I want him back now!”

“You’re an idiot,” Alec stuck his tongue out at her, making another turn and gesturing at Magnus’ building proudly. “See how fast I got us back! Even with the world spinning, I could find Magnus everywhere. It’s a talent.”

“Very impressive,” Lydia admitted, because it _was._ “But hey, what did you mean when you said Magnus gave you some of his sparkle? Did he give you some of the blue magic he waves around all the time, or is it a special Alec colour? And does it leave a trail? Is that how you got us back here without even hesitating. Wait, does this mean you have magic too?”

“Those were a lot of questions for one person,” Alec pointed out, frowning as he stumbled towards the loft. “And no, I don’t have magic. I’m a shadowhunter! Shadowhunters can’t have magic, even though that would be very, _very_ cool. Maybe Magnus can create a spell that would make me temporarily not a shadowhunter so I could have magic! And no, it’s not his blue magic. It’s gold, just for me. Like his eyes, actually, although I’m not sure you’ve ever seen those before. You know, his warlock mark is truly the most beautiful mark I’ve ever seen. In the morning, his eyes are this soft shade of gold that shines in the sunlight. And at night, when it’s all dark, they’re the only thing that illuminate the room. You could say Magnus is my light, really.”

“Again with the sappiness!” Lydia grumbled, even though she secretly found it quite adorable how cute Alec got when he talked about Magnus. Not that he talked about Magnus a lot, usually, or at least not the same way he was right now. “Hey, do you think we’re really drunk?”

“I don’t know,” Alec shrugged. “I’ve never been drunk before. Ooh, Magnus is going to be so proud! He’s always telling me I’ve got to let myself go, do something reckless, but I never knew what he meant before tonight. I feel like I could do anything; fly to the other side of the world, get a piercing, dye my hair…”

“Dye your hair?” Lydia perked up at the thought.

There was something niggling at the back of her mind, a memory from long ago, but she didn’t want to think about it at the moment. She could hear her mother’s voice in it, and that was never a good sign. She couldn’t handle her mother, especially not when she was feeling so good. Instead, she focused on what she knew for sure.

“I’ve always wanted to dye my hair,” she sighed dreamily. “Do you think I would look good with green hair?”

Alec paused. He took a few seconds to stare at her in the lobby of the building, cocking his head to one side and then another, before shaking his head firmly.

“No, I don’t think you would look good with green hair,” he answered. Lydia deflated, but her best friend kept on talking before she could give up on her dreams of colourful hair. “I don’t think anyone except Magnus would look good with green hair. But something else, maybe? Red? Oh no, no, I take that back. You would look like Clary, and one redhead is enough for me. But there has to be something else. You could go with a dark colour and make people believe we’re siblings.”

“Ooh, yes!” Lydia exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly. “Do you think Magnus could make my hair another colour? I know he has a lot of magic, but are there rules against dying your hair with magic? Would I get in trouble with the Clave?”

“Fuck the Clave!”

In the small elevator, Alec’s words came out unexpectedly loud, but Lydia had to admit he had a point. In fact…

“Fuck the Clave!” she repeated loudly, grinning widely when Alec started chanting the phrase underneath his breath, tapping the elevator’s wall rhythmically at the same time. “My parents would _murder me_ if they could see me now. Oh god, Alec, what would your mother say?”

“She would be horrified,” Alec said seriously, before bursting into giggles. “Or maybe she would dye her hair with you. Can you imagine her sitting in front of Magnus, magic all over her face?”

“It would probably make her look a lot younger,” Lydia chuckled, thinking about a blue-faced Maryse and immediately grimacing. No, blue was her girlfriend’s colour. “Ooh, maybe I should dye my hair blue! Catarina and I could match! Matching girlfriends! We could coordinate our outfits and be the best couple in all of New York City!”

“Sorry, Lyds, but that title is already taken,” Alec smirked proudly, dodging out of Lydia’s way and sprinting towards Magnus’ front door to avoid her retaliation. And then, the idiot had the gall to slam the door in her face right before she could slip inside. “Too slow, Branwell!”

“Oh, you’re going to pay for that, Lightwood!” Lydia exclaimed, wrenching the door open and narrowing her eyes when she found the loft’s entranceway completely empty. She hadn’t thought Alec could be so fast, not when the ground was still spinning quite a bit. “Come out, come out, wherever you are!”

“I’m already out, Lydia!” Alec’s voice called out from the living room.

Lydia raced there immediately, coming to an abrupt halt when she realised her best friend was no longer alone. Instead, he had found a very comfortable spot on Magnus’ lap. The warlock looked completely bemused, glancing between Alec and Lydia with confusion written all over his face.

“Oh my god,” Lydia heard him murmur. “I can’t believe it. You two are _drunk_ , aren’t you? I thought you were just working late, but you had the nerve to go out without even telling me about it first! Alexander, you traitor.”

“We’re not drunk,” Alec shook his head seriously. “I promise, we just had a little bit of wine, and then Maia told us to leave, and now we’re here! Your magic was all happy, so I came back to you so _I_ could be all happy as well.”

“Well that’s… That’s very sweet, Alexander,” Magnus said, smiling softly at his boyfriend. “But what do you mean, my magic was all happy? My magic was right here, with me.”

“No, I’m talking about your other piece of magic,” Alec said, rolling his eyes as though that should have been obvious from the very start. “The one you put right here.”

He pointed at his heart and, although everything was slightly blurry, Lydia could have sworn that Magnus _melted_ right there and then, looking at Alec as though he were the most beautiful thing in the world. Lydia could only huff annoyedly, wondering why _her_ warlock wasn’t around to take care of her?

“Well then, I’m glad my little piece of magic was able to get you back here safely, especially considering how lost the two of you look right now,” Magnus said, caressing Alec’s cheek softly before nudging his boyfriend off his lap. “However, I think it’s time for the two of you to get something to drink and then get some much needed sleep.”

Alec and Lydia both started nodding, but then they glanced at each other and realisation dawned. They had had plans before they had come up here and gotten distracted by Magnus.

“We need to dye Lydia’s hair first!” Alec yelled, pointing at Lydia enthusiastically and turning begging eyes on his husband. “I promised her you would give her the colour she wanted. Except green. Please don’t dye her hair green, I don’t want to work with a tree.”

“What’s wrong with trees?” Lydia asked, crossing her arms over her chest and levelling an unimpressed stare at Alec. “Nature is important, Alec. Besides, I’m much prettier than a tree. If I dyed my hair green, I’d be more of a… A medusa!”

“Medusa turned people to stone!” Alec exclaimed, as though that was a _bad_ thing. Really, men were so ignorant sometimes. “Besides, who’s to say that medusa’s snakes were green, huh? Maybe they were grey, or black, or… Or purple.”

“Ooh, you’re right!” Lydia snapped her fingers, winking at Alec. “I should try more than one colour! Magnus, Magnus, you can do several colours, right? First, we can prove to Alec that I would look great in green, and then you can dye my hair all the colours of the rainbow and I’ll get to choose one and I’ll look great!”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Magnus laughed, sauntering towards his bedroom and gesturing for Alec and Lydia to follow him. “Although I should warn you that not all my colours will be perfect, since I don’t know your hair intimately enough to be playing around with it.”

“Who cares about perfect?” Lydia shrugged. “Perfection is overrated, right Alec? Maybe we should stop trying to please everyone, and start pleasing ourselves with wine and pretty colours and magical partners more often. I’m sure no one would complain about that, right?”

“I certainly wouldn’t,” Magnus grinned, gently pushing her into the seat in front of his vanity. Behind them, Alec thudded into the room loudly and sprawled himself out on his and Magnus’ bed, looking like he had never been more at ease. “And I think Alec could benefit from such an arrangement, although I also think the two of you will come to regret how much wine you had to drink when you wake up tomorrow.”

“Regret is for the weak!” Alec called out, his voice coming out muffled from the mounds of blankets he had started burying himself under. “Who cares about regret when you have golden magic, a beautiful boyfriend, and a best friend who spins around with you?”

“Spins around?” Magnus asked, his eyes widening alarmedly in Lydia’s direction. “Why is my boyfriend talking about _spinning_?”

“What, you don’t see it?” Lydia raised her eyebrows, gesturing at the tilted room around them. “Everything started spinning when we left the bar. Or at least, I think that’s when it started. Hey Alec, did the world start spinning before or after the bar?”

“What bar?” Alec mumbled confusedly. Lydia opened her mouth to answer, only to shut it again and shrug when she realised she had no idea what she was talking about either. “’s what I thought. No bar here.”

“Of course not,” Magnus scoffed. “You two got drunk on wine you found on the floor, I’m sure. And Maia kicked you out the park, I presume?”

“Don’t think there was a park,” Alec groaned. “But Lydia’s the one with the prettier eyes.”

“First of all, I take great offence to that, Alexander,” Magnus gasped, although his gaze was still eternally fond when he looked at his boyfriend. Lydia had never seen anything as sweet as these two men’s relationship in her life. Except maybe _her_ relationship with her girlfriend. “You and I have amazing eyes. Secondly, just because her eyes are pretty doesn’t mean she can see better than you.”

“But your eyes are prettier, and _you_ can see better,” Alec pointed out, and Lydia nodded her head in agreement, although she really had no idea whether or not Magnus could see better than them.

“We weren’t in a park,” Lydia cut in, suddenly remembering what they had been talking about. “I would have remembered all the trees and the green. And speaking of green!”

“Right,” Magnus turned back towards her, smiling at her in the mirror. “Well, miss Branwell, it’s time for your makeover to start. I hope you’re ready for a few minutes of glamour and change, because that’s exactly what you’re going to get. Oh and, Alexander, if you want to join in…”

“I don’t want to be a tree,” Alec grumbled. Lydia couldn’t see him anymore, given how far into the bed he was buried, but she could easily imagine him narrowing his eyes at them.

“Well I want to be medusa.”

Magnus bit down on his bottom lip, but he didn’t say anything as he set to work. Blue magic showered all over Lydia, and she laughed delightedly, grinning when her hair turned from its usual blond and turned bright green. And alright, maybe Alec had had a point; green truly didn’t look great on her, and Magnus clearly agreed.

“ _Tree_.”

“Idiot!”

“Alright, Alright, how about we try something a little more appropriate for our dear Lydia,” Magnus interrupted their bickering, earning himself a dopey grin from Lydia and an eyeroll from Alec. “How about…?”

And that was how the next half hour or so went – Lydia honestly had no idea, since the world was spinning even more and the only thing she could focus on was her hair and Alec’s snipy comments in the background.

They tried blue, purple, bright pink, fluorescent yellow, orange, brown like Alec, black like Magnus, white like Catarina, a different shade of green, an offensive shade of red, and Lydia kept getting more and more excited by the minute, determined to find the perfect colour that she would get to keep forever.

“I get to keep it forever, right?” Her eyes widened as she realised she hadn’t actually asked about it before Magnus had started doing his magic. Tears sprung up in her eyes, and she kneeled on her as she turned around to shake Magnus’ shoulders lightly. “Raziel, please don’t crush my dreams and tell me I can’t keep my hair.”

“You can keep your hair for as long as you want to,” Magnus assured her, patting her fuchsia hair lightly and grimacing at the colour. “I think we’re in the right vein with pinks and purples, but this one is simply atrocious. However, if I tweak it a bit and add some of your natural blond to the mix…”

Lydia gasped in awe as her hair turned from its bright shade to something softer; a light pink that almost resembled her natural hair, except it was _pink_.

“Magnus,” she said softly, carding her fingers through her hair softly. “Magnus, it’s beautiful. What’d you think, Alec?”

“You look great,” her best friend mumbled, and Lydia stuck her tongue out at the pile of blankets he had hidden under.

“You can’t even seen me, liar!” she exclaimed, rolling her eyes when she didn’t even get an answer for her troubles. Her best friend was the _worst_. “Fine, well I like it, and Magnus likes it, so I think this is it! Oooh, should we do Alec next! Pretty please, Magnus?”

“As much as I would love to see my boyfriend with bright red hair, I think we’ve had quite enough excitement for tonight,” Magnus shook his head at her fondly, booping her nose when she tried pouting pleadingly at him. “You can even sleep in our bed if you don’t feel like sleeping alone tonight.”

“Woo!” She cheered, almost falling off her chair as she danced victoriously. “Sleepover!”

After that, all she remembered was babbling about her new hair for a while longer, stepping towards the bed with Magnus helping her every step of the way, and the scent of sandalwood and honey as she snuggled closer to Alec, teasing him about his cowardice and telling him that she was the coolest medusa in the world.

And when she woke up the next morning, the first thing she did was look at her hair in awe, realising she had finally done something she had always wanted but had never been brave enough to do. Or at least, the first thing she did after throwing up, downing some Advil, and gulping water like she hadn’t drank in years.

Hangover or not, however, she had to admit that she had never looked better. She was pale, and there were bags under her eyes, and she knew the flush on her cheeks was _not_ a good sign, but she was smiling as she reached up to touch her hair again, and she felt tears well up in her eyes at the sight of light pink, accentuated by the early morning light.

Lydia never did things for herself. She had too many memories of her parents telling her shadowhunters weren’t meant to have fun; they were supposed to follow rules. She had always lived by that motto but now, after over two decades spent on earth, she was starting to think they had no idea what life truly was.

She was Lydia Branwell, medusa extraordinaire, and she could do whatever the hell she wanted to.

**Author's Note:**

> Heya guys! Thank you so much for reading! Laws, Em and I were talking about Lydia dyeing her hair last night, and I had to make it happen, so I hope you all enjoyed these drunk shenanigans as much as I did <3
> 
> Love, Junie.
> 
> (find me on tumblr @hopesilverheart)


End file.
